MOSCOW, December 21. Attempts to link the extension of EU sanctions to the role of Russia in settling the conflict in Ukraine are baseless, as the crisis began there on the background of Association with the European Union. This was stated by the Russian foreign Ministry.
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“The fact that the EU links its sanctions with the resolution of the conflict in the South-East of Ukraine is artificial and baseless, said in depodesta. This conflict has unleashed, and not Russia that the current Ukrainian government, which tried by force to suppress dissent in the Donbas with the state coup in Kiev in February 2014. It is worth Recalling that the starting point of the crisis events in Ukraine the last two years was the situation around her Association with the EU”.
The expectation that Russia will abandon principled approaches in foreign policy under the pressure of sanctions, erroneous, the statement said the Russian foreign Ministry.
“Obviously the lack of logic in the behaviour of EU, which tries to “punish” Russia for what she is not independent, but involved in what he said in Russian depodesta, commenting on attempts to justify the EU sanctions so that the Minsk agreement to be implemented. – The situation will change if the are properly to work with Kiev, urging him to implement the Minsk package of measures approved by resolution 2202 of the UN Security Council”.
The extension of anti-Russian sanctions against this background it is hypocritical. And to believe that sanctions can force Russia to abandon its principled approaches, was from the beginning wrong and short-sighted. Their extension means that the EU remains in thrall to their own miscalculations
statement of the MFA of the Russian Federation.
The extension of the sanctions until 31 July 2016
The Council of the EU officially , endorsing, therefore, the decision, which was agreed by ambassadors of the 28 countries of the community on December 18.
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EP: EU links the lifting of sanctions against Russia with the Minsk agreements, and not with the Crimea
“21 December 2015, the Council extended the economic sanctions against Russia until July 31, 2016,” reads the statement of the press service of the Council.
It says that this decision is due to the fact that in March the EU leaders have linked the restrictive measures with the implementation of the Minsk agreements. “However, as the Minsk agreement will not be fully implemented until January 31, 2016, the expiration of the extended sanctions, while the Council continues to assess progress in implementing the (contracts)”, – explained in the document.
THE MINSK AGREEMENT
On 12 February the negotiators of the Contact group in Minsk signed the previously agreed with the heads of the participating countries “channel four” document, providing for a ceasefire in the Donbass February 15. The negotiations “Norman Quartet” consisting of the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and France, as well as the German Chancellor continued in Minsk in various formats (in the narrow format with participation of members of delegations) from the evening of 11 February, a total of about 16 hours.
The history of sanctions
The EU imposed sectoral economic sanctions against Russia on 1 August 2014, 12 September, they were extended, and in October mitigated.
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In a set of sectoral sanctions included restrictions in the access to European financing for five Russian banks – Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank and Rosselkhozbank. The “daughter” of Russian state-owned banks registered in the territory of the European Union, have been withdrawn from sectoral sanctions.
The second element of the sanctions was the arms embargo and a ban on the supply to Russia of dual-use technology, primarily electronic.
The third element was a ban on providing Russia with new technologies and sale of high-tech equipment for the oil sector. We are talking about equipment and technologies for shelf mining and oil development, shale oil, Arctic drilling. Experts note that in the context of falling oil prices, this asset has lost all practical significance.
In addition to these measures the EU has imposed a ban on the import into the EU of goods from Crimea and Sevastopol, transport and visa restrictions in respect to their inhabitants within the so-called Strategy of non-recognition of the Crimea became part of Russia.
Separate the sanctions track is the so-called blacklist of individuals and organizations, who are denied access to the EU and to the European banking sector. The list includes over 150 people, including representatives of the proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk national republics, and 37 legal entities – in the first place, military and civilian structures of LNR and DNR.
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All sanctions of the West against Russia
